Small Business Secrets

News: The traditional office could become a thing of the past

Traditional office workers are becoming less common, as a new survey has revealed the amount of remote workers in the UK is rapidly on the rise.

A poll from workspace provider Regus shows that 42% of respondents now work remotely for at least half of their working week, compared to last year’s figure of 39%.

The main benefits of remote working were reported to be greater productivity, improved staff retention and lower operating costs.

Over a third of survey respondents said they think junior employees become more responsible through remote working.

However, many businesses are still slow to embrace remote working, with half of respondents saying managers do not trust remote workers to stay focused on work tasks.

John Spencer, UK CEO of Regus, said “Workforces are becoming ever more ‘distributed’, with staff in multiple locations. It is perfectly possible for remote teams to collaborate effectively, but it does require managers to focus less on control and more on motivation and teamwork.”